Cronuts: Pastry Spotlight

Just like fashion, the culinary world has its own fads too. Being a food loving country, the Philippines is fast to catch up on food trends –from frozen yogurt, milk tea, cookie butter & now, Cronuts.

Photo from dominiqueansel.com

Since its launch in New York last May, this little pastry by Chef Dominique Ansel (Top Ten Pastry Chefs in the United States, Top Ten Pastry Chefs You Need To Know) has taken the world by storm. A Cronut™ (yep, trademarked & copyrighted) is the lovechild of two well-loved pastries: the frosted goodness of a donut & the delicate texture of a croissant. “It’s more than just a deep fried & frosted pastry,” he says. But of course it is. These round thangs have hard-to-please New Yorkers lining up outside his store at 6 in the morning for an average of two hours only to get two Cronuts per customer. It has the rest of the world follow suit. Now Cronut imitations are everywhere…including the Philippines.

Wildflour Bakery + Café, one of Manila’s most raved about restaurants, is the pioneer of recreating the said pastry. I have yet to try their pastries as I only had dinner there one time & this was the perfect opportunity to do so (plus the curiosity was killing me). Lucky for me, I have someone (guess who) who anticipates my food chronicler “I-freaking-need-to-try-it-first” needs & he gets some for me since I was whining/bitching about wanting to try it already. Having no time to go out of the office, PMS-ing & the fact that it sells out fast got to me okay! I am sorry & you are the best person a pig like me could as for! God I’m the worst girlfriend. Ever. Anyway.

Photo from the Wildflour Facebook page

Wildflour sells these at PHP110/piece and with three basic flavours: chocolate, vanilla & strawberry. They have two branches: The Fort & Podium (got mine at the latter). During my whining days, I’d do my research on what people had to say about this recreation. Other people said they were underwhelmed, it was very meh & that it was just another overpriced pastry. Still, had to try it for myself to find out. Once I got my grubby little hands on them, I screamed, squealed & excitedly opened the box.

Hey, babe. Come here often? No, not you, KR.

I carefully examined them in their sugary glory for a while then decided to try the chocolate one first. It felt exactly like a croissant at first bite — a frosted, sugar-crusted, cream-filled one. If I eat ten of these, I’ll probably die a premature death. Deadly but delicious. The chocolate frosting was just right & I am pleasantly surprised that it was filled with smooth cream. On a personal note, I liked them, actually. Perhaps during the time of my consumption, Wildflour already had an improved recipe? And perhaps, people’s expectations were just too high?

Cream filling inside the pastry

Layers of crumbly, sugary vennoiserie

They actually remind me of napoleones! Or Krispy Kreme’s glazed doughnuts! If you love those, you will looove these. Cronuts are a nice treat, but definitely not for regular consumption. Be reminded to consume it as is — not refrigerated or toasted. It’s also a great pairing for coffee.

Some told me to check out Manila Hotel or the Manila Peninsula for their own versions. If you happen to know of any more, give me a heads up! This has me wondering how good the original ones must be. ARGH. All in all, this pastry is simply a little piece of indulgence. Let’s see how long this food trend will last, but for now it is definitely the pastry of the moment.

P.S. If someone comes up with cookie butter cronuts, that would be ultimate in hipster food. Hahaha!